Statistical Physics

In this revised and enlarged second edition of an established text, Tony Guénault provides a clear and refreshingly readable introduction to statistical physics. The treatment itself is self-contained and concentrates on an understanding of the physical ideas, without requiring a high level of mathematical sophistication.

The book adopts a straightforward quantum approach to statistical averaging from the outset. The initial part of the book is geared towards explaining the equilibrium properties of a simple isolated assembly of particles. Thus, several important topics, for example an ideal spin-1/2 solid, can be discussed at an early stage. The treatment of gases gives full coverage to Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics.

Towards the end of the book the reader is introduced to a wider viewpoint and new chapters are included on chemical thermodynamics, interactions in, for example, liquid helium-3 and helium-4, and statistics under extreme conditions.